Dos and Don'ts of Pocket Carry

Concealed carry is a great thing, and there are many methods and ways of accomplishing it.  If you have a smaller firearm, a great method is carrying in your pocket.  However, there are certain things you should do, and certain things you should avoid for the safest, most practical, and most effective experience when carrying in your pocket.

Know Your Firearm

First thing is first: no matter how you plan on carrying, know what you’re carrying.  You must train with your carry firearm to be most effective.  Now, I don’t mean run a timed course or fire thousands of rounds with your firearm.  Know the recoil, know how to reload quickly, know how to clean it, and so on.  Carrying something you are unfamiliar with may work against you in the event you ever needed to use it.

Pick the Right Holster

Picking the right holster is everything for carrying.  When it comes to pocket carry, there are some different things to keep in mind when selecting the right holster.  A holster does not have to be made specifically for your firearm.  When I carry in my pocket, I carry my SCCY CPX-2.  It’s pretty large in terms of pocket guns.  Normally I avoid “cheap, one-size-fits-all” holsters, but for me, I have found that a low cost brand, size four pocket holster works great for my SCCY.  I picked it up for ten dollars at Walmart.  (Note: one-size-fits-all may work for pocket carry, but I would never suggest that type of holster for any other method of carry).

After you have found the holster that your firearm fits, it MUST meet three criteria:

1. The holster must cover the entire trigger
2. It must keep your firearm upright
3. It must fit tightly enough around the firearm to keep foreign object out

Let’s take a look at these in more detail…

Make Sure the Trigger Is Covered

This one should be pretty straight forward.  It is very common for handguns to not have safeties on them.  However, safety or not, the trigger is what makes the firearm go bang.  You never want to have any part of it exposed inside your pocket.  If anything gets snagged around it, you could open up a hole in your leg the next time you sit down.  Worse, you could injure someone else if the firearm discharges.  Having the right sized holster for the job helps with this.

Make Sure Your Firearm is Upright

The orientation of your firearm is also very important to keep in mind.  You always want it pointed down (following your leg).  This is important for a clean draw, and safety.  If you ever needed to draw your firearm defensively, you want to make sure your hand grasps the grip right away.  If you grab any other part and need to spin it around when you remove it from your pocket, it may be too late.

When it comes to safety, if something does ever work its way around the trigger, you’d rather have that pointed down away from vital organs.

Keep Your Pockets Empty

I have mentioned keeping your trigger covered and proper firearm orientation.  These must be followed, but to be even better off, don’t have anything else in your pocket besides your firearm and its holster.  Having anything else in your pocket could be dangerous if it works its way into the holster.  Also, it may hinder you from getting a quick draw on your firearm if you ever needed to.  It’s also just a good way to keep your firearm free from scratches and marks from whatever else is in your pocket.  The only other thing I keep in the same pocket is a simple knife that I am very familiar with.

Wear the Right Pants – Don’t Print or Expose

If you can’t fit your firearm in your pocket, don’t try.  Get a smaller firearm, or different pants.  One, you need to be able to get your hand in quickly to get to your firearm; two you could break some very serious laws if you print or expose.

“Printing” a firearm means when you have it concealed, your clothes press against the firearm, and you can see the outline of it.  In some states, this is perfectly legal.  In other states, you could be in serious trouble.  Legal or not, this also lets people with a trained eye know that you have a firearm, which could make you a target.

Exposing a firearm could be even more serious than printing.  If your firearm is too big and you have part of it hanging out of your pocket, you have just gone from concealed carry to open carry.  Again, in some states, this may be fine.  In others, you may be charged with a felony and you won’t have to worry about this issue again, because you’ll no longer be able to carry legally.

Keep Your Firearm Clean

Keeping your firearm in your pocket will quickly expose it to pocket fuzz, dirt, sand, and whatever else.  While this will not bother most firearms in moderate amounts, you never want to take the risk.  If you carry daily in your pocket, I would suggest cleaning your firearm about once per month, even if you don’t shoot it, just to be on the safe side.  For anyone who carries a SCCY, you will be pleased to know that I did an extreme test on this, and it fired just fine: SCCY CPX-2 Pocket Lint Test.

Be Safe, and Be Legal

Finally, use common sense and obey the law.  Be safe and follow what I have mentioned above.  Also, DO NOT carry a firearm in your pocket (or anywhere concealed) without a concealed carry permit that is valid in whatever state you happen to be in.  Check with all local laws (or other state laws if traveling) before carrying a firearm.  One mistake could cost you your freedom, or physically harm you or another.